"World" music

[Hawksun]

Japanese music is already called J-pop and J-Rock depending on the genre. As for how other cultures label their music, thay probably have their own terms, better asking them rather than theorize blindly.

For my part, I think world music is a fine categorization as it is. Otherwise we would have to categorize EVERY form/genre/style/subgenre. My local record store has a whole section labeled World music but which use countries as subcategories ; I think that's it's probably the best compromise in terms of both respect and efficiency. Otherwise it would be an administrative nightmare.

I know the term is pretty U.S.A.-centric, but we gotta learn to live with some music journalist's misnomer that got accepted as a whole genre descriptor.

--Hawksun

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by Hawksun

My local record store has a whole section labeled World music but which use countries as subcategories ;--Hawksun

Synphonic, at the festivals, labels everything by Country. But it's Country then alphabet

[Hawksun]

Originally Posted by Rick and Roll

Synphonic, at the festivals, labels everything by Country. But it's Country then alphabet

My store also uses an alphabetical subdivision for each country, but since alphabetical ordering is a de facto standard I didn't think I needed to mention it.

[podakayne]

just to throw some dirt on this whole "thing"...it kills me the necessity of lables...

why would American Indian music be the only "tribal" music or does it have to be the music of the indigenous people to make it tribal? ethnic? what about american country(i asked a while back why keith urban whos an aussie sings amer. country and how if there were an aussie equivalent sound there), american jazz(world, ethnic?), american r&b(ethnic?), american rockNroll, it's all tribal in nature if you look at the roots(no pun intended)...but alas the human thing is to catogorize it so it's not lost in a sea of sounds. as we all know there are many items(music) that transend categories, but we are creatures of discription and the need to place some kind of box around a thing—to neatly put it in a place. whether that's in our heads or ears, is politcally correct (and that crap changes too often for my taste) or otherwise noted will continue to be a human phenomenon (or however you correctly spell it)

backing out slowly

interesting thread

[Yesspaz]

Originally Posted by Hawksun

but we gotta learn to live with some music journalist's misnomer that got accepted as a whole genre descriptor.

heh! Nice.

I like Poda's point. It's all ethnic in some way. If you're from rural Tennessee and playing a banjo, it's bluegrass, but it's also ethnic in that it springs forth from an ethnic group's history. With that said, once a genre is established, anyone else out there with that sound falls into it no matter where they are from. Keith Urban is a great example. He's Australian and is on top of the country music world. Why is he "country?" Because he is purposefully playing a certain established sound. Therefore it's not ethnic or world. But if an Australian record label records native Aboriginal music and releases it, it's ethnic because it IS the music of an ethnic group. Now, as soon as that music becomes the influence of someone like Sting, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, etc., we say something like, "The new so-and-so album is a rich mix of smart pop and progressive rock, laced with world and ethnic music." We say that because it works and is established.

I'm not one for reinventing the wheel, fixing something that isn't broken, or insert-idiom-here when it's not really needed.

Now, as for Clannad, they're definitely world in that there is a pure native music that they are largely channeling. But they are also "new age" or "prog" or "pop" in that they aren't playing a pure form of traditional Celtic music. I mean, Maire Brennan is Enya's older sister, and Enya has the same problem. Is she pop? New age? Prog? World? or all of the above? Thing is, you almost NEVER find a pure form of anything. As has been said before, "The mesh is the mess, baby."

[sharcnorris]

Originally Posted by Hawksun

For my part, I think world music is a fine categorization as it is. Otherwise we would have to categorize EVERY form/genre/style/subgenre. My local record store has a whole section labeled World music but which use countries as subcategories ; I think that's it's probably the best compromise in terms of both respect and efficiency. Otherwise it would be an administrative nightmare.

I know the term is pretty U.S.A.-centric, but we gotta learn to live with some music journalist's misnomer that got accepted as a whole genre descriptor.

--Hawksun

I agree with Hawk and Roger.
If you want controversy, World and Ethnic are just PC terms for Native Music by People of Color. If a White man is in Front, you can bet the Originators are performing in the back